Iterate Weekly - Issue 150
This week we're looking at self service tech replacement service, making cubicles cool again, tracking resilience with Oura, Wilson's airless basketball, and "Anatomy of a Fall"
Welcome to issue 150 of Iterate Weekly.
Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.
Thank you as always for reading!
🤖 Tech
Self service tech replacements
Google recently announced a customer support option that I hope can become a norm for certain types of electronics.
They’re calling it “Mail In Replacement Self Service”. It really has a catchy ring to it doesn’t it? This will initially only be offered for their Pixel Watch 2 product which I still use on a daily basis. It’ll work like this:
If your watch decides to stop working for whatever reason, you can mail it in for a discounted replacement that won’t include the new accessories that it assumes you already have on-hand. And the self service part is really the most fun because you’ll just need to fill out a short form with some info on what’s wrong and the serial number on your device. You’ll be able to print out some postage and ship the watch into the repair center. Once they receive the product and confirm the issue, they’ll send you a new watch.
Notice that I skipped the horrible part of two weeks of emails back and forth with a support person who tries to diagnose the problem rather than read the info you’ve already provided. Maybe I’m a bit salty after it took Google Store Support folks over a week to provide me a new store credit code to replace an existing one that inexplicably would not be accepted despite being confirmed as legit and well within its expiration date. So let’s just say that my last handful of experiences with Google support makes me want to do my own servicing wherever possible.
Of course, Google is kinda coy on the exact pricing right now. Obviously, if you’re fully under warranty and it’s an issue that’s covered, you should get a new watch for free. But this is a nice benefit for something like a watch that I think we’d all prefer to keep for a bit longer than a phone or other piece of tech. Once you’re out of warranty and something goes awry, you can get a replacement at a (hopefully) reasonable discounted price as a loyal customer.
If more companies did this, I would absolutely get on-board. Earbuds are a great example as well. I’d likely stay loyal to a brand who offered discounted replacements like that beyond the duration of the warranty. Of course Google could reverse on this one tomorrow and it notably excludes everyone who owns the original Pixel Watch, so perhaps I shouldn’t celebrate too much.
But for those of us who are capable of diagnosing tech issues and don’t have the patience for poor customer support, self service replacement options feel like the perfect way to responsibly trade-in broken devices and get new tech at a reasonable price.
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
Are cubicles cool again?
I’m curious to know how many of you have cubicle experience. Was it positive? Was it mortifying?
Personally, I’ve had mostly open floor plan style office experiences along with one really funky setup in bedrooms of an old victorian house. But there was one spot where we did have dividers that has some variability in their setup but were essentially cubicles.
Anyway, apparently the cubicle may be making a comeback for employees who are back in and office but seek some form of privacy that they may have in their home office.
Office layouts are clearly complicated and very delicate matters. Arranging human beings into shapes in a floor plan never really seems natural no matter what the job is. And since every job is unique, privacy can be a necessity or luxury. But it’s clear that for most knowledge workers, being in a place with constant distractions just doesn’t work.
There is a time and place for open conversation with coworkers but the option of privacy shouldn’t be seen as something that is part of the battle over remote work. Perhaps the cubicle just needs a bit of a rebrand? Maybe some colors would be nice?
♻️ Health & Environment
Oura will now track your “Resilience”
If you’ve been reading my work for a while, you know that I’ve been wearing an Oura ring for several years and I do still value all of the data it provides. I’m not sure there is a better device to help you get over any type of illness or overtraining. To be clear, it won’t cure anything, but it lets you know when something is up so you can adjust your habits accordingly.
Oura keeps adding new features to their platform and the latest one is designed to track your resilience.
Sounds like an intangible thing to keep track of right? Well, not exactly. While it’s still new and I’m waiting for more data to compile, it seems reasonable to see how well a body is able to recover from mental or physical stress over time. In simplest terms, your body may be “resilient” if it’s able to more quickly overcome these stressors to return to the baseline metrics that have been established from months and years of Oura ring data.
My resilience is still in the average or “solid” range but I’m going to see how that evolves over time. But I’m also keeping a much closer eye on subtle changes in body temperature and heart rate variability as signs of overtraining and potential illness.
As much as I love to nerd out over Oura ring data, those good old days of just waking up and deciding how you feel seem to be long gone…
🛍 Grab Bag
Who wouldn’t want a $2,500 airless basketball?
The basketball was mainly unchanged for the 130-odd years the game has been around. The original ball was stitched leather with a rubber bladder inside to hold the air. Even as other modern materials were used, a basketball has mostly been leather, rubber, and air.
But who says that can’t change? Behold Wilson’s new airless basketball that will sell for $2500 USD!
Unfortunately, even if you’re will to part with that kind of cash, these balls won’t be easily accessible. There are currently only 200 of the 3D-printed masterpieces in existence. And of course it doesn’t actually need any air inside because it is perforated with plenty of tiny hexagonal air pockets that still give it that essential bounce.
While these may get demoed in some NBA events at All-Star Weekend, the short-term plan is not to hit the blacktop with these things. They are however the the perfect gift for any hoops-obsessed valentine in your life. This initial batch will be a serious collector’s item with no assurance that a design like this will ever catch on, but who knows?
They will be available in three colors with my personal favorite being that beautiful “undyed” off-white, which takes on the natural hue of the polymer used in the printing process.
💬 Quote of the Week
"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar."
-Abraham Lincoln
🎥Content Recommendation
Anatomy of a Fall
I feel like it’s been a fairly strong crop of nominees this year, but I think I have a new front-runner in my personal choice on Best Picture at this year’s academy awards.
My wife and I recently watched “Anatomy of a Fall” and it really had be captivated from start to finish.
I’m certainly not one for blood and gore and that cover image above nearly scared me off. While it’s clear before you even begin the film that an incident has occurred resulting in blood in the snow, the rest of story has your mind racing.
The acting is fantastic across the board and I think Sandra Hüller should win best actress in my humble opinion. While much of the movie is in French, it moves at a great pace for English speakers and the Franco-centric courtroom scenes may have been the best depictions I’ve seen in any film regardless of the language. Perhaps all trials in France are that entertaining?
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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